1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a means for cleaning a screen and more specifically to the automatic cleaning of a lint screen for use in an automatic clothes dryer.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A lint screen cleaner for use in an automatic clothes dryer is disclosed and claimed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,314,409. This patent discloses a means of automatically separating the lint continuously from the dryer exhaust air system, rolling it into string-like masses and passing it to a transport system. The transport system moves the lint to a storage receptacle which is accessible through a hinged panel in the machine top and which requires cleaning only approximately every two years under average conditions of household use.
That patent discloses a device which comprises a rotating cylindrical screen through which the dryer exhaust is continuously passed from the outside of the cylinder to the inside of the cylinder and which includes multiple wiper blades to roll the lint deposited on the screen into string-like masses as the screen is advanced. The released lint is passed to a rotating auger to be transported to a smooth walled plastic tube and into the storage receptacle in the upper right and upper left quadrant areas of the dryer cabinet.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,966,441 discloses a lint separating and disposal apparatus utilizing a rotating screen which passes the lint past a flame for burning and which includes one or more arcuate collector cups disposed in the wall of the shell below and radially outward from the screen structure for collecting particulate matter such as hair pins.